AND THEY'RE OFF

As Phil Mickelson did his interviews following a second-round 69, Tiger Woods blew by him, head down, straight to the tee.

"I'll probably watch," Mickelson said of the remainder of the tournament. "It's my punishment."

The early players were almost unanimous in their praise for Torrey Pines and, more specifically, the weekend setup. Padraig Harrington called it "exceptionally generous." Stewart Cink predicted a lot of afternoon birdies. And Mickelson said the course is "set up for some fireworks,' adding that anyone at 3-over par is right in the hunt.

That kind of talk is going to make the USGA guys smile. As he headed out to track the leaders, the USGA's Jeff Hall, who lives in Bethlehem, said the course actually is running a shade under 7,300 yards today, more than 300 shorter than its back-tee length.

Told that it sounds like a Sunday at a 1980s Masters out there, Hall smiled. "Those were good tournaments," he said.